Syme makes whisky hall of fame

Western Australian distiller Cameron Syme has been inducted into the Australian Whisky Awards Hall of Fame for his trailblazing contributions to the industry.

Mr Syme received the honour at a ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Sydney last night.

Australian Whisky Awards co-founder Niko Devlin said Mr Syme’s contributions to Australian whisky and distilling had helped lay the foundations for the establishment of distilleries across the country.

In 2004, Mr Syme founded Great Southern Distilling Co and went on to open three distilleries, in Margaret River, Albany and the Porongurups, and create four drink brands: Limeburners Single Malt Whisky, Giniversity Gin, Tiger Snake Whiskey and Dugite Whiskey.

His products have won more than 160 awards around the world, including the American Distilling Institute USA Best International Craft Whisky in the World trophy for his Limeburners Heavy Peat.

Outside of his own business, Mr Syme is the founding president of the Australian Distillers Association and has served as president and vice-president.

Mr Syme represented distillers on the Commonwealth taskforce coordinating hand sanitiser during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His distilleries participated in producing sanitiser for hospitals and other institutions, turning $350,000 worth of gin into $350,000 worth of hand sanitiser.

He was also part of the campaign to increase excise refunds for distillers, which has grown to $350,000 per year.

Mr Syme said it was great to see Western Australian whisky being recognised, as Tasmanian whiskies have previously dominated the national scene.

Hobart-based Lark Distillery won best Whisky of the Year for its Christmas Cask Release III.

It is the second year the awards have run.